My Little Fairy
by Hikarino Aki
Summary: Once Atobe Keigo was saved...
1. Prologue

**Name:** My Little Fairy

**Author:** Ji-chan aka hikarino_aki

**Beta:** milisante

**Fandom:** Prince of Tennis

**Pairing:** Adorable as the main, Dirty and Silver as a background… well, maybe more I dunno yet ^___^

**Disclamer:** Sadly, but I own nothing. If I did, PoT would be about Hyoutei… well, maybe it's not so sad I don't own it actually ^^

**A/N:** it's an AU story, kind of… so the facts are screwed up a little XD

**~ Prologue ~**

"You, little brat!!! How dare you bite me?" man threw a boy onto a wall and hissed. The boy slipped down the wall to the floor. His left hand was unnaturally curved and his lower lip was bleeding but he glared at the man with so much dignity that it looked almost like arrogance. The Man came closer and lifted the boy gripping his shirt's collar. "Try this again and I'll forget that you are an important hostage for us…" with other hand he squeezed boy's neck. Instead of answering the boy just spit at his face and smiled arrogantly. The man threw him on the floor and stormed off – surely not to lose control and kill. The boy spit some blood to the floor and tried to calm down and think. Parents are probably looking for him already. If these people need money they'll get them. But… but time passes by and there is no way he will just sit and wait – it's just not like him.

***

A boy exited an old abandoned shop. He was shaking, his eyes seemed empty. His clothes were dirty and torn and he went through the streets holding his hurt left hand with the unharmed one. He did not watch around, he just walked straight. He heard whispers around but did not care. He did not care about anything, did not think. He just walked until someone behind him screamed and he was tumbled down by a body. That's when he lost consciousness…

***

He was woken up by the light too bright to be his prison. He slowly opened his eyes to look around and the first thing he saw was a smiling round face with large shining brown eyes and short hair the color of gold.

"You woke up? That's good. Feeling okay?" a boy (and it definitely was a boy) around his age looked really worried despite smiling. The injured one tried to say something but his throat was too dry and he only coughed. The blond jumped up from his seat and took a glass of water, then helped him to drink. "Better?"

"Yeah… Where am I?" he looked around. Not large but very light room with two beds (he occupied one of them), a desk, a computer table and a wardrobe. Nothing like that dark hall he last remembered to be in. Was he rescued? And if he was then why isn't he at home? And who is this boy?

The blond seemed to watch him carefully sitting on a chair near the bed. He had to repeat the question to snap the boy out of his thoughts.

"Oh, sorry-sorry… you're at my house. I'm Jirou, Akutagawa Jirou. You had almost been knocked down by a truck and was unconscious so I brought you here… could not leave you there. My mom is a doctor so she fixed your hand a little. What's your name?" boy's eyes shone with interest and still a little worry.

"My name?" he smiled bitterly. "You'd better not know it. It brings tragedy." he lay down again and turned his head to a window to think. But the boy, Jirou, did not let him.

"Hmmm… you're strange. But I need to call you somehow… hmmm… mnmnmnmnn… a! I know! I'll call you Kei! It seems to suit you. Kei-chan! Is it okay?"

He turned his head in shock. _'How can he?.. it can not be, I had nothing with me that could lead to my name! It's just a coincidence… right?'_ he wanted to believe this boy. Somehow he felt he was a friend.

"Ne, Kei-chan, wanna something to eat? Mom made soup; we thought you would like some when you wake up…" Jirou stood up from his chair. He was kinda small but seemed the same age somehow.

"Errr… thank you…" he did want to eat. "And… can I have a phone, please? I need to call home and say I'm safe…"

"Okay, I'll bring it!" Jirou smiled and rushed downstairs.

He sat on the bed and looked at his healthy hand, recalling all that happened. _'Shit. Grandfather warned me not to use that thing until it was the only way… now I understand why…'_ he still could see blood-covered walls and three human bodies in a burning room…

Two hours later an imperceptible but obviously expensive car took him home. He remembered Jirou's sad face when he said that they would probably never meet again and that it's for good. The Akutagawa family appeared to be warm and kind but proud – they did not take money his family had suggested to give them. "We are not poor, we do not need any compensation. There was no way we could leave a child to die…" Jirou's mother said. He thanked them again and left… forever… he was surprised by how this word made him sad too – did he really not want to say 'Good bye' to that shining boy? Will he ever meet him again? It would be better he didn't but… he wanted to.

**~~~ Five years later ~~~**

"Oi, Atobe, what are you aiming for?" the blue-haired boy entered the room with a few sheets of paper in his hand.

"Isn't it obvious, Oshitari? I'm trying to make this school a little more acceptable to study in. And if I need to bear Sakaki for this… well, it's not such a big deal in any case." a dark silver haired guy proceeded to sign papers.

"Isn't it easier to transfer back to England? Or some other European school? Why Tokyo? And moreover – the notorious Hyoutei Gakuen?"

"Because this is a tradition. My dad went to this high school. And his dad too. And so on. And I like Tokyo."

"But having Sakaki as a headmaster…"

"Nothing is for free in this life, haven't you learnt it yet?" he did not even lift his head once. Oshitari rolled his eyes.

"Why am I still by your side?"

Atobe stretched and leaned back – deeper into his throne-like chair.

"Isn't it obvious? Because ore-sama is great and as long as you are with me you are in favor… this and you owe me life for your little redhead." he smiled viciously. Oshitari sighed – he was not going to dispute THIS question AGAIN. He just signed his own contract. _'Hyoutei Gakuen… I knew my life will not be boring the day I met Atobe Keigo…'_


	2. Chapter 1

**~ Chapter one - "Save You, Save Me" ~**

Shishido Ryou was not paying attention to the class – he was thinking. How did it happen to him to be actually involved in some kind of gang after only three weeks of Senior High? He indeed often had had fights – he was hot-tempered and not very social type after all – but he had always done it alone and had no problems with it. Few bruises and fractures did not count. He was perfectly fine being alone. So… how did he end up in this? Even not a normal 'gang'! And what was with this "We're gonna rule this school!" attitude when they had only three people in a gang counting himself?! Well, four actually, but he could not (and did not want to) imagine Mukahi fighting. That was a nonsense. So why did he say 'okay' when they asked?

'_Gosh, that's stupid'_ he thought.

A dark aura behind him dragged him out of his thoughts. Sensei stood there glaring at him.

"Shishido-kun, am I not good enough for your attention? Or are you the only one who doesn't need to pass the Japanese History Exam in the end of the semester?" she said sweetly. Way too sweet actually.

"Errrr… sorry, sensei, I just…" Shishido tried to find the excuse.

"You just want to stay after classes. Okay then, let me grant your wish…" the teacher cut him off. "Well, doesn't anyone know the answer? Like… awww… sleeping so sweetly, Akutagawa… maybe YOU know the name of the man in question?" She was definitely in a bad mood: just looking around Ryou found five boys standing – obviously for not answering this same question Ryou himself even hadn't heard. The sleeping blond though lifted his head and looked up before answering:

"It's Akechi Mitsuhide, sensei…" he said in a sleepy voice before adjusting his head back on his arms and his eyes sliding shut. "He was Oda Nobunaga's 'right hand' and when Nobunaga got him somehow kicked off the palace he decided to get revenge on him~ zzzzzzzz~" and the boy went back to his sleep.

Despite the fact Shishido had been studying with Akutagawa Jirou since elementary school (they were not quite close but still knew each other) his eyes (and eyes of the whole class and even the teacher herself) went wide – no one thought the boy even heard the question and him knowing the answer… wow, that was amazing if you ask Shishido.

"Ah… my…" the teacher almost got out of her shock. "Why all of you are not like that? He seems to listen to the class even being asleep… and he does his homework too… My God, such a child…" she was obviously delighted. Unlike the standing boys – they actually seemed… well, pissed off would be that one word. Ryou thought this was not a good sign.

There were times when Shishido Ryou hated to be right. This time seemed to be like that. After the bell rang and sensei left five boys from earlier plus three more from their 'company' came to Akutagawa's desk. The boy was awake and had just pulled out a bento from his bag.

"Oi, Akutagawa… need to talk to you." said Sarino, the tallest boy in the class. The blond raised his head and blinked at him. Shishido stood up to interfere if something was about to start right here.

"What?.."

"Let's go, you'll eat later…" Areki added. Jirou shrugged and stood up.

"'Kay" he said, following them outside. Ryou stared: does not the boy understand what they are up to? He won't be able to eat anything but baby food for at least a month after that! And no one in the class would stop them…

Only because Ryou had some kind of high morals and a little sweet spot for the always sleeping blond ('cause hey! how can one study with such a creature for half of one's life and NOT have a sweet spot for him!) he now seemed to have eight-to-one fight. _'Great… Or wait! It's not necessarily eight-to-one…'_ he thought and gritted his teeth, moving to the door.

If there was anything that Shishido Ryou hated more than being right when he did not want to then it was to ask for help. But in this case… he did not need to just show off, he needed to save one little optimistic idiot from having his insides shaken upside down.

"It's so lame," he sighed and ran out of the classroom. Two doors up the corridor was classroom "1-A" and the head of his so-called "team". So he rushed there and cracked the door open, eyes finding the boy he needed on an instant.

"Oi, Atobe, I need your help. Now." he almost shouted from the door. Atobe Keigo turned his head from a book he was reading to look up at the intruder. His eyes at first widened a little and then narrowed – Shishido Ryou would never ask for help from him if it was not something REALLY impossible. And knowing Shishido (not for very long but he had his 'Insight' after all!) he could guess that there were very few things the boy considered impossible. So… no time for talking, he'll ask everything later. Keigo removed his long legs from his desk, stood up and came near the slightly shorter boy.

"I'll be heading outside now." Ryou said. "Find Oshitari and Mukahi and come there too. All questions later, I know you can track me down by my cell phone." seeing Atobe twitching his brow but still taking his own mobile and calling, Shishido rushed downstairs. _'There is only one place where they can be. The only one without Sakaki's cameras.'_

'_Down the corridor, then two floors down the stairs to the main hall, outside the building, to the right, round the corner…' _Ryou pushed students out of his way and prayed not to meet a teacher. No one seemed willing to stop him – the boy looked rather scary when obstacles needed that. _'Left, left, right… here it is!'_ he jumped from behind the last corner and stopped. He was right – there they were, all seven of them standing around Sarino and Jirou. The last was sitting on the ground wiping his bleeding lips with his sleeve.

"I did not do anything to you, what do you want from me?" the blond asked, standing up. He looked… puzzled.

"Stop acting so cool, Akutagawa, there is no one to look at you! And don't ever dare putting us into a bad light while answering teachers' questions! You, stupid sleepy moron!" Sarino shouted and hit the boy into the stomach with all the power. Jirou bent down and gasped in shock. Before he could see they all were near him smashing hits onto his shoulders, hands, head… someone hit his legs and Ryou saw Jirou falling, his hands around head, protecting his face.

"What do you think you're doing, you fucking sons of a bitch! Beating up one boy like that!" Shishido cried out, attracting their attention. One by one they turned to look at him. Sarino went forward smiling arrogantly.

"He should know his place. We're just showing him what it is like to mess with yakuza. Have any problems with it, Shishido? Wanna join him maybe?" he stretched his fists.

That made Shishido go wild in a moment and he dashed to the boy, aiming for his stomach. Sarino tried to escape the impact but… Shishido Ryou may not be very strong type but he was extremely fast and had much sharper reflexes than anyone. The blow was accurate and strong enough to push the boy aback. That's when the gang came forward. They tried to make Shishido fall too but he was way more experienced fighter than most of them. He dodged, jumped, used his hands and legs at the same time… there were some hits that managed to reach him but he was still standing and two of his opponents weren't. Though he had almost reached his limits. _'Shit, Atobe! What takes you so damn long?!'_

"Stop it!" a feeble voice called. Beating some random boy Shishido turned around and saw Jirou trying to get up. The boy's hands were shaking and he could not stand properly but he reached his hand in the direction of the fight and pleaded. "Stop it… please… don't… don't hurt anyo…" he coughed.

With the corner of his eye Shishido saw Sarino raising his clutched fist aiming for Jirou's head.

"Jirou, careful!" he turned and hurried to the boy but someone managed to footstep him and he started to fall. _'DAMN!!! Curse you, moron!!!'_ he wanted to scream, moving his hands to cushion the impact of hitting the ground when someone stopped his motion by grabbing his collar and pulling him backwards. He flapped his hands and turned his head to see Oshitari Yuushi behind him.

"You're okay?" the bespectacled genius asked, releasing him and turning to hit Areki in his nose.

"Kind of. Thanks." Shishido answered, beating up the boy who seemed to make that one footstep. _'Shit, Jirou!'_ he remembered and wanted to dash to the boy but stopped. Jirou was standing, wide-eyed, and looking at the hand that tried to hit him. The said hand was not moving. Sarino's eyes were almost as big as Jirou's and he tried to struggle. But between him and Akutagawa stood Atobe Keigo, his eyes flaming, his fist on Sarino's wrist, stopping that hand from hitting the blond.

"What do you think you are doing, you, a bunch of imbeciles, aan?! Messing up with ore-sama's team…" Atobe was not even raising his voice a little, but everybody stopped. All the fighters froze. Sarino growled and tried to hit Keigo with his free hand. Shishido did not quite catch the move Atobe made but a second later Sarino was lying with his face on the ground, unconscious.

'_He is not dead, right?'_ Ryou thought.

He was not the only one to think like that – Jirou had fallen on his knees, crept to Sarino and tried to find his pulse.

"Don't worry, ore-sama's attacks are high-leveled and accurate, he is alive. But he won't get up for some time." Atobe turned to face the blond.

Jirou's head shot up, his eyes widening even more (Shishido did not even believe it was possible), hands falling and jaw dropping.

"K-…Kei-chan?!!!" he managed through his shock. Atobe wrinkled at the name, but then half-smiled.

"Long time no see, Jirou. And you can call me Atobe from now on. Atobe Keigo." and Atobe turned to Shishido. "Now what was this all about?"

As long as they did not need to fight anymore (all the opponents who could stand ran away) Shishido explained the situation, while Oshitari approached a still highly shocked Jirou with few bandages and Mukahi, who seemed to take his part in fight too considering the state of his uniform, was just bouncing around listening.

"…and that's when you interfered." Ryou finished and came to help Jirou stand up.

"Whoa, you're super naïve, Jirou!" Gakuto jumped to the blond and looked at him curiously.

"I just did not think it was bad to answer sensei's questions if I knew the answer…" Jirou answered, accepting Shishido's hand. Gakuto laughed.

"It's Hyoutei, baby! Welcome to reality!" he patted the boy's curls lightly.

"He's been in Hyoutei for much longer than you, stupid." Shishido said.

"Well yeah, but he still did not catch the rules. And I'm not stupid, Ryou!"

Shishido just 'hmph'ed and smiled sheepishly.

"I'm not!!! I'MNOTNOTNOTNOTNOTNOT!!!"

"Shut up, Mukahi. Shishido, Jirou, you can not return to your classes like that. I'll call a car, it will bring you home. Shishido, make sure there is someone to take care of him at home and then return to your dorms. Oshitari will make up some kind of story for school." Atobe said. Gakuto pouted but shut up. Shishido nodded. Oshitari just rolled his eyes. Jirou barely stood and seemed to drift away and falling asleep on Shishido's shoulder.

When the car came they put sleeping blond inside and Ryou climbed near him. Atobe gave the directions to the driver (and how the hell he always knew where people live?!) and closed the door. The car left school grounds.

"Hehe… I like him! He is cute and sweetly naïve!" Gakuto grinned.

"I guess he is one of us from now on?" Oshitari asked Atobe.

"It's for him to decide. But ore-sama thinks so. Let us go now…" and he turned to go to the school.

"Hnnn… and what's with this 'Kei-chan', Atobe, a?" Oshitari's voice reached him. Atobe didn't change his direction.

"Fuck off, Oshitari…" no one saw, but Atobe Keigo was smiling.

***

Shishido was sitting on a classroom's windowsill staring outside. He did not know what made him wake up and come to school this early but he found Jirou here. It's been two days after the fight already and they were the ones in the classroom, though it was almost an hour before the lectures. Jirou's desk was the nearest to the window, he was sitting leaning his head on a desk and rolling tennis ball on the smooth surface. He still had few bandages on his face and a little bruise in a left corner of his mouth. They did not have a chance to talk, 'cause Jirou was absent yesterday and the day before Ryou had just handed unconscious boy over to his brother without explaining anything. Well, to say the truth the older boy did not ask anything, he just sighed and started to treat Jirou's wounds. Fortunately, there weren't any fractures or internal damage, only bruises, no help or hospitalization needed, so Ryou went home.

Silence was awkward but somehow peaceful… and maybe they needed to talk… right? Ryou had no idea. He was just sitting on a windowsill staring outside.

"Ne, Ryou…" a voice called, "what are you doing here? I mean, with Ke-… Atobe and others?"

Ryou decided not to turn around and see if the blond was staring at him. He answered more for himself.

"I don't really know myself… it just happened somehow. You see, Gakuto and I used to live in the same neighborhood and… well, played together when we were children. He too attended Hyoutei Elementary, but different class so you might not met him. But when we were to go to Junior High his family moved to England so we lost track of each other. And then I met him here on the first day of the semester. Well, to be honest, he'd just found me himself. Said he knew I was still here. Oshitari was with him and they asked if I was interested," he stopped for a few seconds and then continued. "Hyoutei Senior is kinda different from any other senior school and even from Hyoutei Junior. It's a dangerous place. This is a business school, the yakuza children is a common thing here, so having strong alliance is good. I'm strong but… I just thought 'hey, why not?' – they didn't ask for any vows or something. It's not like we are just Atobe's subordinates, it's much more of a team than a gang. It imposes me, so… I agreed." he turned his head to Jirou who was listening carefully. The boy was smiling slightly. Shishido bit his lower lip and stayed silent for a moment before asking: "And what about you? Don't you want… well, Gakuto said he wants you with us and no one is against, so… what d'ya think?"

Jirou suddenly changed his position, sitting with his legs on a chair, his hands around his legs and his chin on his knees. He stared at the ball in his hand.

"I don't like fighting…" he said. Shishido frowned.

"Fighting is not what we are together for. Actually your case was the first since I joined. We do not start fights. This 'team' thing is more for self-protecting than for attacking. Here in Hyoutei Senior if you have any kind of problems with yakuza you can't handle it just by yourself – yakuza children are way worse than adult ones, they don't mind attacking a single opponent with a whole gang. They do not know there is such thing as code of honor. This is the reason we need each other." Ryou jumped off his place and sighed. "In the end it's for you to decide. But no matter what your answer will be… you can always ask me for help." he grinned. "Well then, I still have 25 minutes left so I'll go have a snack. Wanna with me?"

"No, thanks. I'll stay here…" the blond smiled. Ryou shrugged and left.

When in few minutes first children started to come in, Jirou stood up and went to the window Ryou was sitting on before. He watched birds flying above for some time and then he reached for that sky with his hand, smiling to the sun. One of the birds flew to him and sat at his palm, chirping. Jirou smiled wider.

Two floors down Atobe Keigo looked up at that same sky before entering the school building and saw a shining sunny blond with birds flying around him. He felt a little envious and a lot warmer somewhere deep inside him. _'Good view to begin a busy day with… don't you think so, grandfather?'_ he smiled to himself and disappeared in the building.

***

"Oi, Atobe, it's not like I'm really busy but you know – I still have things to do. Why don't you just tell us what you wanted and we'll leave?" Shishido asked standing in front of his 'buchou' who was not reacting at all. The four of them were here for good 15 minutes already and Atobe did not tell why he called them. He was just reading a book with a difficult name in some foreign language. Shishido scowled and sat on a desk behind him. He would have left already (he didn't give a damn to what Atobe wanted) but he was naturally curious why Oshitari and even Gakuto did not make attempts to leave. The genius was sitting with his legs on a desk before him. He was reading too but just some sappy novel as far as Ryou could see – girls in class read those things a lot – and Gakuto was sitting turkish-style on a desk behind him eating an apple, glancing to Oshitari's book from behind his shoulder and giggling. Shishido crossed his arms. "Okay, how long will we sit here doing nothing? Is this some kind of ritual? Like praying or so? Classes ended half an hour ago. I'm bored, hungry an-..."

"Don't you see it, Shishido? He is waiting…" Oshitari's voice came from the left. Ryou turned to him, but the genius did not lift his head and continued reading.

"Waiting for what? A Second Coming?" Ryou rolled his eyes.

The book in Atobe's hands slam shut and he smiled a little staring at the closed classroom door. The door slid open and there was Jirou, standing with somehow puzzled look on his face. Atobe smiled and leaned back into his chair.

"Right about time…" he laced his fingers and looked at Jirou for a few seconds. Shishido saw that Oshitari also put his book away and Gakuto stopped eating and just stared at the blond with wide grin when Atobe spoke. "Welcome to 'Eternity', Jirou. We are happy to see you here." Atobe waved with his hand to show the blond a place at the desk behind his own. The boy stared at him with wide eyes and then blinked and went to sit where he was shown. Shishido stared at Atobe too – he was never greeted like that. And what was with this 'Eternity' thing? He did not hear this! _'What the fuck?'_ he wanted to ask but just blinked a few times.

"Ore-sama guesses you want to know what's going on. Now, when all the participants are here, ore-sama will tell you…" Atobe looked at Jirou again and then his gaze moved to Shishido.

"Hell yeah…" Ryou spoke, still a little shocked. Atobe was smiling indulgently, Oshitari was smirking and Gakuto was still grinning. Next phrase stunned the brown-haired boy even more.

"We are going to be this school's 'mafia'. Ore-sama will change this school."


	3. Chapter 2

**~ Chapter two – "Welcome to 'Eternity'" ~**

"We are going to be this school's 'mafia'. Ore-sama will change this school."

Oshitari smirked. Gakuto grinned. Jirou just stared at Atobe. Atobe… seemed to be serious. He was calm and was just watching them all confidently. Shishido blinked.

"Eh? What the hell?"

"What surprises you so much in ore-sama's words, Shishido?" Atobe asked. Shishido stared at him shocked.

"Should there be nothing surprising?" he questioned. "Mafia? Atobe, have you gone crazy? Mafia is everywhere around in this school!" he jumped off his desk and scowled, then added quietly: "And I thought you guys were different…" Shishido took his bag and turned to leave. "I'm not interested."

No one said anything. Oshitari looked at Shishido and was still smirking, Gakuto rolled his eyes, Jirou seemed to think hard. Ryou looked at Atobe once more as if waiting for 'Just a joke!' thing and when nothing happened he just moved to the door. When he passed Jirou's desk a hand caught his jacket. He turned his head to see Jirou looking at him smiling slightly.

"I think you misunderstood, Ryou… let him finish… please?" he pleaded. Ryou blinked again and looked around once more. Nothing changed. Jirou continued to look at him with puppy eyes. Ryou was weak against this kind of looks. He sighed and dropped his bag, then detached Jirou's hand and returned to his place.

"Okay. What did you mean by all this, Atobe?"

Atobe smirked.

"Ore-sama said 'this school's mafia', didn't I?"

Shishido gazed at him.

"So?"

Oshitari sighed and leaned forward, removing his legs from the desk and resting his hands there.

"Shishido, don't take it literally. You're not stupid, are you?" he looked straight into Ryou's eyes. Ryou narrowed his eyes.

"I hate this mind games, Oshitari. Say it properly."

"Aaah…" the genius sighed. "Look, Ryou," he ignored Shishido's 'don't call me by name, moron' and continued. "We decided to make this school a little better. For those who are not yakuza I mean. 'Mafia' here means opposite to majority. So 'this school's mafia' means someone to deal with all the real yakuza's impunity here. What about this?" he tilted his head.

Shishido gazed at him, then at others. They were smiling. Well, Atobe's smile was kind of tossy really but… well, he still smiled. Jirou looked relieved, like that was what he thought. Ryou groaned.

"Robin Hood, the defender of injured and dejected? You don't actually look like one. Neither of you do. And I'm not going to fight for just anyone too," he folded his hands.

"As far as ore-sama remembers we've told you that we only fight to defend ourselves…" Atobe made a stress at the last word.

"You contradict yourself…" Ryou scowled.

"Does ore-sama?" Atobe winced. "Ore-sama does not think so. Have you ever heard that real wars take place behind the actual stage, Shishido?"

"So what?"

"Atobe's gonna become a Student Council head, Ryou." Gakuto said.

Shishido froze staring. First at Gakuto, then at Atobe and Oshitari. And finally at Jirou. _'Calm down, Ryou. They are… well, they are not joking, okay. But… there should be something! Your instincts never betrayed you before, why should they now?'_

"Okay. Even if this is true… what do you want from me? From us? Student Council elections are all about yourself, why do you need us? I'm not going to walk through the school screaming 'vote for Atobe', the hell. So what?"

"He needs to get some authority, I think…" Jirou suddenly spoke up. "…and to get authority here one needs some actual power behind him…" he seemed to talk to himself, "Besides, a first year student can't become a president. That's why…" he turned to Atobe. "Am I right? You're going to try for head next year?"

"Yes, you are right, Jirou. Ore-sama needs powerful alliance in this school, not only screaming girls. So, Shishido…" Atobe looked at him "…what do you think about this? Do you want to be a defender or a defended one?"

That was a right stroke. _'Defended one? The hell!'_

Shishido did not really need to answer – it was all on his face. Atobe smirked and took a box from behind him. He opened it and took something, giving it to Jirou and Ryou. That was a simple silver chain with a silver ring on it. When Shishido looked closer he saw that the ring was actually a snake that ate its tail. _'Eternity I guess…'_ He looked at others. Oshitari and Mukahi unbuttoned their shirts a little – there were the same chains. _'And I thought it was kind of 'he is mine' thingy… che…'_

Jirou looked at his:

"Whoa! It's cute! We should wear this, right?" he waited for Atobe to nod royally and then he placed the chain onto his neck. Shishido sighed and did the same – that was the sign after all.

"Good." Atobe said. "Now to the points. Jirou, you need to get some fighting practice, okay?"

"I don't like fighting…" Jirou pouted.

"But you may need to. Ore-sama does not want to lose you only because you do not defend yourself. We are not going to start fights, ore-sama assures you."

"Um… okay…" Jirou hid his eyes. Atobe proceeded:

"Shishido, do you have some time tomorrow? It's Saturday so no classes. You will train him first."

Once more Shishido stared at Atobe, but now Oshitari and Mukahi joined him.

"Wait, Atobe… maybe let Tezuka do it? He's a pro after all. Shishido might hurt him unintentionally – he is used to not holding back."

"Ore-sama is sure this is not necessary. What do you think, Jirou?"

"I do believe Ryou would not really hurt me…" he smiled shyly. Atobe smiled, this time somehow gently.

"So Shishido? Are you free tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I guess…"

"Then wait at the gates tomorrow at nine in the morning. That's all for today. We're leaving." He stood up and proceeded to the door, followed by Oshitari and Mukahi. Jirou stood up too, watching at the clock. Ryou looked too. _'Half past seven. Great, I'm late for the bus home…'_

"Shishido, what are you dreaming about there? We'll leave you behind." Ryou's head shot up. "Or do you want to walk back home on your own?"

Still a little surprised, Ryou looked at Jirou. The blond stood near Atobe smiling. Shishido frowned and followed.

Outside it was the car from two days before. They sat inside and Atobe gave the directions to the driver.

***

The dorms Ryou lived in were not very far from the school, but far enough for the school bus to take students there. The bus came every day because some students had clubs on weekends. When at 8.40 on Saturday Ryou came to the bus stop he saw Oshitari and Mukahi there.

"Morning, Ryou!" Gakuto grinned at him. Oshitari nodded with a smile. Shishido looked surprised.

"Did not think you live in the dorms… why?" he asked.

"Folks are still in England. And Yuushi does not live in dorms, he just stayed with me yesterday after we went to his house and told his sister 'bout that." Gakuto said. "Though I hope he'll live with me next year… that would be much easier…"

The bus came and they sat in the back. Oshitari took a book from his bag and started to read. Gakuto rolled his eyes and turned to Ryou.

"So, how have you been without me? Found a new boyfriend?" he grinned evilly. Shishido hit his head lightly.

"You were never my boyfriend, thanks God." But his cheeks went slightly pink.

"Hehe. But you did not answer."

"That's out of your business whether I found anyone or not," he stressed the word 'anyone'. Gakuto rolled his eyes.

"Like I don't know you're the same as me…"

"You want to talk about it, Mukahi?" Ryou said gritting his teeth.

"Scary, scary… fine, how's Kazuya then?"

"He's okay. Working as a veterinarian like he always wanted… he's in Okinawa now – got two years of practice there. And yours?"

"I don't really know. Or care. We haven't been in contact for more than a year. They did not want to accept me." Gakuto seemed quite neutral saying this, but that was a play for those who didn't know him well… Ryou did. He saw Gakuto suffering but could do nothing.

"Sorry…"

"That's okay. I really don't care anymore." Mukahi smiled slightly.

"So… where did you live then? Back in England I mean." Ryou asked carefully.

"Isn't it obvious? In the dorms, with Yuushi," he grinned again.

"Ah, really. I could have guessed. And you're studying here on a scholarship then?"

"Nope. Surprisingly they do pay for my education." Gakuto shrugged. "Even I have no idea why they didn't just toss me away, 'cause they wanted to… but they do pay for me here anyway."

"Strange… well, maybe they do have some parental instincts after all…"

"Maybe…" Gakuto looked down again.

Yuushi hid his book and stood up – the bus stopped right in front of school gates. Gakuto and Ryou followed him out. Jirou was already there, dressed in a black sleeveless sports shirt, a pair of dark-grey jeans and an unbuttoned plaid grey-blue T-shirt, his chain hanging around his neck and the ring hidden under the clothes. He wore tennis sneakers and had a big bag with him.

"Good morning!" he greeted them cheerfully

"Yo." Shishido said. Gakuto only grinned and Oshitari nodded again.

"K-… Atobe called me and said we should go to the third gym. He'll come later."

They followed him into the school. The watchman opened the gym for them so they entered and put their bags on the bench.

"Okay then," Oshitari stretched and sat down. Gakuto was already on the other end of gym, hanging upside down from the parallel bars, so Oshitari addressed the two of them, "I guess Atobe wanted you to start without him. So do it, I'll be watching and stop you if something goes wrong," he smiled to Jirou as if trying to calm him down, though Jirou seemed perfectly fine.

"'Kay," he said.

They moved to the center of the gym and stopped there facing each other. Shishido looked at the blond, then at Oshitari.

"Look, Jirou, Oshitari was right yesterday when he said that I'm not used to holding back." he warned. "So just tell me if you are hurt, okay?"

"Okay." Jirou agreed, but looked like he did not believe Shishido would hurt him. Ryou sighed – all he could do was hope that Oshitari would watch carefully. Then he made two steps back and attacked aiming for Jirou's jaw.

Jirou tilted his head to the right and escaped the punch. _'What the…'_ Ryou turned a little and tried to hit the blond in the stomach. Jirou half-jumped back and left. Then Ryou turned around raising his left leg in a pivot blow. When Jirou jumped and made a handspring almost hitting Shishido's face, there was a thud and a curse from one end of the gym and a shocked 'That Atobe…' from the other. Shishido stopped his motion and turned around to see Gakuto lying on the floor with his eyes like saucers. Looking in the opposite direction he found Oshitari leaning forward with his hands on his knees and eyes catching every move of the two in the center. Shishido then looked at Jirou. The boy stood gazing at him and grinning.

"You're great, Ryou, you know? Very fast. It's really difficult to dodge," he said.

"And you're supposed to not be able to fight. What the hell?"

Jirou frowned.

"I never told I can't fight. I said I don't like to! But Atobe told I have to…"

Ryou could not believe his ears and eyes. _'Is he normal? Why didn't he defend himself three days ago then?'_

"Really, Jirou. Why didn't you defend yourself three days ago if you could?" Oshitari asked. Jirou sighed.

"There were eight of them and I had no practice for few years. And I did not understand what it was all about…" he looked down, "…and I did not want to hurt them. I'm not good at holding back when I attack too…" he suddenly became very pale as if remembering something painful. Shishido inspected him closer – the boy did not look like that light-headed optimistic child Ryou had known for six years.

"Hey… did something happen? Jirou?" he asked. The petite blond looked up in a few moments.

"Mmm, I'm okay. It's already over…" Jirou shook his head and grinned.

"Really?"

"Yeah… let's continue then?"

Shishido added slowly, standing back into position.

"Now it's your turn to attack…" he said.

Jirou stood for almost a minute watching at the floor and pulling himself together. Suddenly his head shot up and the look in his eyes became absolutely different from what Ryou had ever seen before. _'He is determined to win… good.'_ Ryou grinned too, clutching his fists. Jirou attacked…

*

"Atobe, you're mean!" Oshitari said into his cell phone. "Could have warned us at least…" he listened to the answer for a while. "Yes, you said he is not that easy to deal with. But you never told us he could fight!"

"Did you think ore-sama could let him fight an experienced fighter if he could not fight at all? You could have thought about it!" the voice came from the gym entrance. Oshitari turned off his phone and looked at Atobe.

"I thought about that. But imagining he will beat up Shishido that easily was a little too much…"

"Ore-sama did not expect this too until two days ago…" he came to Shishido, who was seating on the bench with Jirou taking care of him. "How are you, Shishido?"

"I'm fine. Just a few little bruises, a two-minutes unconsciousness and lots of humiliation," he hissed at Jirou when the boy salved his grazed knuckles with iodine. Jirou smiled and continued. When he finished he turned to Atobe:

"How did you know?" he tilted his head a little.

"Ore-sama remembered all those trophies in your room five years ago. They all had your name on them and they were all gold so you had to be a champion. And martial arts are not among the things that can be forgotten easily. So ore-sama made a research and then called your brother…"

Jirou blinked.

"So that was you… is he really okay?" the blond sounded really desperate.

"Perfectly. He was fine a year ago already. He is even playing American football now." Atobe smiled.

"Good," Jirou smiled back. "So… what should I do next?"

"Hmmm… that's for Oshitari to decide." Atobe turned to see the genius who was sitting on the bench to the left from Jirou and Shishido. The boy looked at Jirou for a minute and then spoke.

"I think he should start training with you, Atobe. His style looks a lot like yours – he has extremely flexible wrists – but he lacks experience and needs to improve his footwork," he stopped for a moment. "I don't think he can beat me now but my style is a little too rough for his built. And Tezuka's too I guess… and you don't want to give him to Yukimura, do you? So you would be the best teacher for him."

Atobe inspected Jirou for some time silently before asking.

"Say, Jirou… you play tennis, don't you?"

"Eh? How did you know?"

"Ore-sama saw a little of your fight from over there," he pointed at the cameras on the walls. "That and you've got tennis sneakers on and a tennis ball in your bag's side pocket," he pointed to the bag under the bench. "So? Do you?"

"From time to time. It's fun…" Jirou answered.

"That's good. Any more sportive hobbies?"

"Sleeping. He can sleep everywhere and anytime." Shishido chopped in grinning. Jirou pouted at him and laughed. Atobe nodded – he knew this much.

"Then you can add fencing to this list and we will start in two weeks. Until then you will play tennis with all of us. As far as ore-sama knows Shishido can play too…"

"I used to play in Elementary and first year of Junior High, but did not play since…" Shishido said. Atobe rolled his eyes.

"Again, Shishido – any kind of sports can't be forgotten this easily. And it's not like we're going to send you to Wimbledon."

"Hey, Jirou, what's in your bag? It's heavy…" Gakuto interrupted them. Jirou turned to him and smiled.

"It's for a little picnic. Mom said it would be good to sit and eat outside after practice. There is some rice, eggrolls… well, I don't really know what she put there, but I thought you wouldn't be against it. Would you?"

No one was against so they moved outside and sat in a circle under the biggest tree in a Hyoutei park. Shishido sat between Jirou and Gakuto, who had Oshitari next to him. Atobe leaned at the tree between Oshitari and Jirou. Little blond unpacked all he had with him, everybody else took out their bentos and they started to eat, talking and joking.

"How did it happen we all play tennis?" Shishido asked. "I guess?"

"Hmmm… that's a good question actually…" Oshitari supported him. "Atobe and me have been playing since childhood. Our families had common business interests. At the same time his parents had business relations with England for a long time and each aristocratic family there should play either tennis or golf. Atobe's parents played golf but he himself chose tennis, so my parents decided I should play too in order to be in touch with him in future. We indeed met on a court, right, Atobe? A year or so later, when we were eight…"

"Indeed. You interrupted ore-sama's game against some close-to-royalty boy and lost to ore-sama six games to three…" Atobe smirked.

"And you still remember the score. So like you…" Oshitari smirked despite his very slightly pink cheeks. He turned to others again. "He even wanted to go pro, but parents did not let him. All that screaming was awful…" _'Here, take my revenge, Ke~igo…'_ Atobe's chopsticks broke loudly and the look in his eyes seemed able to kill so nobody laughed, they only smirked. Shishido grinned a little too wide and got the pieces of chopsticks thrown into his face. Meanwhile Oshitari proceeded with the story. "Actually, I met Gakuto on the court too… right, Gakuto?"

"Yep. My parents wanted me to do at least something good for their business in England. But I liked tennis before too – I played doubles with Ryou in Elementary school. And to think of it – that's where we met too! Well, not met but became friends…" he giggled. "That's why you dropped tennis, Ryou? Because I was never there?"

Shishido rolled his eyes and threw the pieces of Atobe's chopsticks at Mukahi.

"In your dreams. I just got a trauma and could not go pro so I dropped. That's all. So what about you, Jirou? I never saw you near the courts so you started after I dropped?"

Jirou nervously smiled.

"Yeah… I started to play after… ah, well…" he gulped. "Well, I guess there is nothing bad in telling you…" the blond sighed. "I started playing tennis after I dropped martial arts two years ago. I needed something to digress myself with after that accident… when a boy I won over at the tournament ended up in coma from some kind of internal damage. I could not proceed with martial arts and parents brought me to their friend that played tennis so that I would not just sleep all the time. And I did not practice all this time until yesterday when my brother told me that the boy from that time had been really okay for some time already and I had nothing to worry. So I'm really tired now…" he yawned and lay on the ground curling himself like a kitten. They decided to let him sleep and proceeded to talk.

"Atobe, you said you saw the trophies in Jirou's room five years ago… how come you were in his room this long a-?" Oshitari stopped abruptly. "Don't you mean…"

"Indeed," Atobe said stretching his arms and looking at Jirou. "Akutagawa Jirou was the one who saved ore-sama's life that time."

Oshitari looked at the sleeping blond too and 'hmmm'ed. Gakuto and Ryou stared at Atobe instead.

"What d'ya mean he saved your life?" Gakuto asked.

"Literally, Mukahi. He drugged ore-sama out of the truck's track when ore-sama was… slightly out of condition."

They all stared at Jirou once more before Atobe unbent his previously crossed legs and fished a book out of his bag.

"If you don't have anything else to ask ore-sama about, ore-sama wants to read a little," he opened the book at a bookmark. They all nodded. In five minutes Gakuto suggested to go buy something to drink and the three of them agreed. Atobe requested an orange juice for him and Jirou.

"How do you know he likes orange juice?" Shishido asked.

"Ore-sama has his Insight…" Atobe answered without lifting his head from the book. So they left.

"What is Insight?" asked Shishido while they waited for the fresh juices (two oranges and cherry for Oshitari) to be made. Gakuto already got his Ponta and Shishido had his cold green tea in his hands.

"Insight?" Oshitari asked. "Well, it's kind of hard to explain… I'd say it's his unique power…"

"Power? What kind of power?"

"Yes. Like… well… have you ever heard about so-called 'Indigo Children' or rather 'Aquarius Age Children', Shishido?"

"Those with powers above natural? There were gossips a few years ago…"

"Right, those children," Oshitari agreed.

"So you guys believe in this shit? And you think that Atobe is one of them?"

"We do not just believe. We know…"

"Oh really? How do you know then? If there is no proof they actually exist, those children…"

"That's not the question of beliefs, Ryou…" Gakuto pouted but then grinned. "How can one doubt when one sees his own powers?"

Shishido looked at the redhead as if saying 'you too, Brutus?'

"That sounds like some lame sci-fi novel" he said. "So that's why you follow him? Because he has an 'indigo aura'?"

"Not really," Oshitari laughed. "He actually is not the only one with that kind of aura. And not all of us have blue aura – this part is really a gossip. For example mine is white… Anyway, it's just he had gathered us all and helped us to learn how to live with this…"

Shishido's brow flied up.

"So you are like that too?" he took one of the juices that were served. Oshitari took the other two and they left the cafeteria, moving to the park.

"Yep!" Gakuto nodded. "And you too. And Jirou."

"Yeah, right. And what kind of power do I have?" Ryou sounded really skeptical. Gakuto looked surprised.

"You've known about it since you were like five. You're unnaturally fast and well-directed. That's why you were one of the best young counter punchers and that's why you're so good at billiards at your age. And even Jirou said he had difficulties dodging your punches – and he is a champion."

"That's ridiculous," Shishido frowned. "I just practice a lot."

"Yeah, since the age of three, aha. Wake up, wooden head, they always said you were gifted. That's it."

Shishido was not convinced but decided not to argue. Instead he asked:

"Then you two?"

"I can fly," Gakuto pointed at himself with his free hand. Looking at Shishido's skepticism he effaced. "Well, that's not really flying… but I do jump to an abnormal height, don't I? And I can… well, not for long but I can poise there. Didn't you tell me that was not normal when we started playing doubles?"

That seemed to convince Shishido a little. He looked at Oshitari.

"And you?"

"Yuushi is sensitive," Gakuto answered before Oshitari. "It means telepathist. He reads thoughts," he grinned. Oshitari smiled.

'_Hell yeah…'_

"You just thought 'Hell yeah', Shishido. Though I do not really think I should convince you… you will just need to believe in some time 'cause that's the only adequate explanation you will find…"

'"_Really__, Jirou. Why didn't you defend yourself three days ago if you can?"'_

"Now you remembered your fight with Jirou and when I asked a question you only thought about asking," Yuushi winced. "Actually I need to apologize for that accident; I just forgot to close myself. I was shocked too," he smiled.

Shishido shivered and decided not to think but to ask at once.

"What do you mean by closing yourself?"

"I train my powers a lot. Like all of us actually. But most of us do it instinctively and I did it intentionally – I had to learn to control that in order to not go crazy. Hearing all the thoughts around is extremely painful and eats a lot of energy you know. So most of the time my mind is closed. I practiced since I was like one and a half and now I even can hide my physical presence if I want to," he smirked. "And you can think now, I'm closed."

"Well, thank you," Shishido looked at him suspiciously. "And what about Atobe then? What is 'Insight'?"

"Ah, that is some kind of power I never met before actually. He just knows. Anything and from the very first sight. He can't read thoughts as I do but he still knows what people like, what their characters are like, their soul, heart and essence. Something like that. And he always knows when you lie to him. That's extremely inconvenient. He calls it 'Insight'."

"And what can Jirou do then? Is it his fighting, like mine?"

"No, he is not like you. Actually I do not know what his power is like…" Oshitari winced again.

"But you read thoughts!"

"Yeah, but there are exceptions. I can't read people with mental powers like mine. The only reason I knew he was like us from the first time was actually because I could not read him no matter how I focused. I guess only Atobe knows… The list of people like that is rather short you know? Among all I ever met before there are only three mentalists – Atobe, Jirou and Yukimura. We are extremely rare," he laughed. "So his fighting style is all about training and you can't blame his powers."

"I never tried to!" Shishido shouted and said the truth.

They reached their tree and stopped in astonishment. _'What the hell?'_ Ryou thought and the two others agreed even without reading his thoughts. What surprised them so much was that Atobe Keigo was asleep, his book lying open on the ground. Always at alert, Atobe now slept deeply without noticing them coming and his left palm was buried in blond curls of Jirou's head lying on his knees. In their sleep they both smiled a little.


	4. Chapter 3

_Guys, I'm really sorry for such a long delay! Half a year is not a joke, I know _ I'll do my best to never do this again! _

_Also, starting from this chapter the plot and boys' abilities go far beyond what we call 'Indigo', 'kay? It goes sci-fi ^^' Hope you still like it ^_^ _

_Love you all, _

_Ji-chan aka Hikarino Aki_

**~ Chapter three – "Noblesse Oblige" ~ **

"Start!"

The sound of swords crossing rang through the room. Two boys in the center moved fast, skewers in hands. Step, step, jab – miss – step back and block. Push, jump back and one more jab. Target hit. Jirou grinned and attacked with doubled force. Atobe hit back with a small smile – he obviously enjoyed this fight. They never wore special equipment so everybody could see their expressions. Yuushi entered the hall and watched the two for a while. When Gakuto joined they went to sit down near Ryou who was standing leaning on the wall and observing the fight.

"Morning, Shishido…" said the tensai.

"Yo, Ryou!" Gakuto waved. Shishido only nodded.

"He's pretty good… that Jirou," Ryou said after a minute or so. "Never thought he could be this good after only two months of training…"

"Yeah… however he still has no chances against Atobe." Oshitari answered. "But his footwork is much better now. He may be able to enter Hyoutei tennis club with this… though he does not need any more…" he smiled and continued watching.

"Stop!" the voice called. The boys saluted, bowed to each other and froze waiting for butler to leave. The moment old man closed the door after himself the room was was filled with screaming.

"Sugoi! Atobe you're so cool! So so so cool! When do we continue? I want more! When? When? When?" Jirou jumped around Atobe with shining eyes. Atobe was obviously enjoying himself and entire ruckus Jirou made: his eyes were shining too, though that was mere self-conceit.

"That's ex facte, Jirou. Because ore-sama is ore-sama. Now let's go…" Atobe headed to the observers. "Morning…"

"Morning, Atobe. Jirou, you too." Oshitari said without standing up. Gakuto joined.

"Yo." Shishido waved to both Atobe and Jirou, who was still bouncy and grinning.

"Morning, guys! How was it? Was I any good? Isn't Atobe cool? He's just that great! He really teaches me so many things!.." Jirou would have continued if it was not for Gakuto who jumped at him and closed his mouth – they already knew how great Atobe was 'according to Jirou'.

"So, Atobe," asked Gakuto after Jirou shut up. "Why did you call us all here? We had some business to do with Yuushi."

Atobe rolled his eyes as if saying _'Yeah, ore-sama knows exactly what kind of perverted business it was…'_ but said different:

"Ore-sama called you all to have a little trip. After ore-sama and Jirou have a shower and change we are going to visit Tezuka."

"Oh," was the only thing Oshitari could say – they did not see Tezuka for some time already. _'Had something happened? Will Yukimura be there too?'_

"Who's this Tezuka guy?" Shishido asked. "You talk 'bout him a lot. Is he another… err… Indigo Child?"

"That's correct, Shishido. Clever boy." Atobe smirked. He still treated Shishido like the boy was a kind of clown. Ryou replaced Gakuto who was previously a person Atobe teased unconsciously. Shishido never could adapt to it and that made the teasing more precious. "Well then, ore-sama is going to take a shower. We'll meet in a half an hour at the school entrance. Let's go, Jirou." Atobe left with Jirou following him and Ryou growled.

"I hate this guy."

"Don't say that, Shishido. He's just teasing you," Oshitari laughed.

"That's why I hate him," he sighed. "Never mind. So, who is Tezuka then? Another one of our 'party'?"

"No, he is not. He's just… let's see… one of the two Atobe's first friends I guess? Though you would never think they are actually friends."

"How's that?"

"Just like that. One would never see any attraction or similarities between them. They are much more of opposites. But Tezuka was the first Indigo Atobe met. One of the two. The second one is Yukimura. They know each other for ages now."

"But he is not in the same team?"

"Neither he nor Yukimura. They have some conflict in attitude. That's why I say one never think they could be friends. But they still are. Even I don't know why. Should we head outside? It's almost time and I want to have a smoke before Atobe comes. Gakuto, let's go." Oshitari raised his voice for the boy (who was jumping in the center of the room) to hear. Gakuto turned to them and grinned, coming back.

"You smoke? Never saw you smoking…" Shishido asked.

"Very rarely. But now I feel like that…" Oshitari scowled and then left the room. The other two followed.

The car stopped at the entrance of an old-styled Japanese building. Shishido stared at it for some time. The house was not as big as Atobe's mansion, but still not very small too. _'It should be quite expensive to have such a house in the center of Tokyo. So this Tezuka guy is not poor too.'_ he thought. They left a car and proceeded to the house. Atobe guided them behind it and to a building that looked like a dojo. There were thuds and sounds of punches heard from there. They stopped a meter before the door when Atobe came forward and opened it. Behind the door there were two men fighting. Both were tall and one was rather old. But despite his age the older man was good. Ryou thought he could not win over this man. The younger man was sweating and breathing hard but his moves were still fast and well-directed. Old man blocked almost all of them and never dodged so Shishido decided they were training power control.

Neither of the fighters paid attention to the sudden intruders so they just watched till the end. After few more punches were blocked the old man smiled and said "Enough" so they stopped. The young man bowed, the old one nodded and turned to see the guests while the young one wiped sweat from his face.

"Keigo. Long time no see. Oshitari and Mukahi too. And who are those two?" the old man said. Atobe smirked and bowed.

"Long time no see, Kunikazu-san. Let me introduce my new team mates, Shishido Ryou and Akutagawa Jirou." Keigo turned back to his friends. "Shishido, Jirou, this person is Tezuka Kunikazu, the Tezuka Family head and my first martial arts teacher. And the one sweating behind him is his grandson Kunimitsu." Kunikazu smiled and looked behind him at a youngster approaching. The boy had dark-fair hair and wore glasses. He sighed at Atobe's introduction of him.

"I'm going to have shower and then head for school, Atobe. I have a tennis team meeting today." he said.

"Well, then ore-sama should offer you a ride to school, shouldn't I? We'll wait for you, so go ahead."

"The same as ever, aren't you, Keigo?" Kunikazu smirked while his grandson rolled eyes and sighed, passing them. "Would you like some cold green tea, children? It's rather hot today."

"Thank you," Atobe said and they followed Kunikazu to the house.

After a cup of tea Tezuka's mother Ayana offered them, they waited for Kunimitsu to show up at the gate. Then the six of them rode to Seigaku. Ryou was rather shocked at the fact Tezuka went to a normal school, not some private one, but he kept silent – Tezuka did not look like he enjoyed company. The boy sat with his eyes closed and only reacted for some of Atobe's points.

"So, Tezuka, how is it in Seigaku?"

"Nothing changed since you last asked two days ago."

"Ore-sama is going to look at your practice."

"Strangers are not allowed to the court, you know it perfectly, Atobe. Anyway, what for?"

"Then you should do something about it – ore-sama wants to see that prodigy of yours, Fuji."

"Again – what for?"

"Well, ore-sama is rather curious at the person that managed to steal your heart, Tezuka."

"Don't speak nonsense, Atobe. There is nothing about me and Fuji that needs your attention."

"Ore-sama does not think so, Tezuka. That guy must be something interesting." Tezuka ignored him. "And ore-sama wanted to invite you both to the beach party when the semester is over. Take your team – we may have a friendly match if you want. Yukimura will come too."

That seemed to wake Tezuka from slumber. His eyes opened and he looked at Atobe seriously.

"Did something happen again?"

"Not quite yet. But something's approaching."

"Okay," Tezuka sighed and opened the door – the car was already near the school gates. "I'll come. Fuji will come too, so no need for you to distract our regulars – we have an important match in few days. Send me the meeting point and time." and he closed the door.

"Well, well, and ore-sama was actually interested. Okay, let's wait a little." Atobe leaned back and turned face to Jirou who was sleeping the whole ride. "Jirou, wake up. We'll start practice in fifteen minutes."

"Hey, Oshitari," Ryou approached Yuushi and leaned at a wall behind him. "What's with that Tezuka guy? I don't get him at all."

They were as always watching Atobe and Jirou fencing and Ryou decided to ask what he wanted to.

"What exactly do you want to know?" genius did not turn to face his opponent and continued watching the two in the center. Ryou did not actually mind now.

"Well… anything I suppose…" he paused and when Oshitari did not answer he continued. "Like what is his power and what is about that conflict in attitude they had with Atobe… and so on."

Oshitari 'hmph'ed and stood up.

"Let's go outside."

They left the room and Oshitari went to the window with the litter-basket near it. Shishido followed. Yuushi fished a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it up.

"Looks like you smoke every time Tezuka is mentioned," Ryou sounded surprised.

"Kind of. I don't actually like him. You can even say I'm afraid of that person." Yuushi inhaled and shook off ash. "I never thought powers like his could be used… well, like THAT." he chuckled.

"Like what?"

"Hmmm… you see, Tezuka's power is telekinesis. You know – moving things with your thought only."

"Yeah I know what that means. So what?"

"The first day I met Tezuka I saw a very freak way of using it. Though he actually saved us all… I would never think of this way. His brain works in rather scary way." Oshitari fell silent for a moment before continuing. "That day we were attacked by kidnappers. You know – we all are from wealthy families and so… Anyways, they trooped the three of us – Atobe, me and Tezuka – round and attacked. We were young and not so good of a fighters so we were at a disadvantage. And that's when I heard Tezuka thinking. He is not mental type so I can hear him. But after that day I prefer not to. He was thinking about calling for those guys' bones to come to him with his powers. You understand it, right? To actually call the bones to leave bodies. His power was not enough to manage the whole process but enough to cause the level of pain when person cannot stay sane. All the screaming was awful – we were children after all. But the whole idea was much more of a shock for me. That's why I prefer being closed and I always get nervous whenever Tezuka is around. Did I answer your first question?"

"Wow…" Ryou stared at Yuushi in shock. "Really scary. And he does not look like a sadist…"

"He is not a sadist. Just a little extraordinary. And well, that was not a normal situation too. I don't blame him – I'm far from being an angel myself – but it just freaks me out to think about it."

"Was that the reason for him and Atobe to part ways then?"

"No," Oshitari threw cigarette end into a bin and pushed himself off the windowsill. "It's a whole different matter. Atobe always wanted to be surrounded by the likes of him. And Tezuka likes peasants." Yuushi smiled and returned to the gym.

The day of the beach party came. Atobe Family's beach house was not as big as the main mansion but still impressive enough for Jirou to run around laughing. Ryou almost got a headache looking at Sleeping Beauty being here and the next moment there.

"Who said I was fast? I don't stand a chance against him…" he laughed. Jirou grinned happily.

"Ne, Atobe! That's soooooo cool! I like this place! Is it okay to go to the beach yet?"

"Wait a little, Jirou," Atobe stopped the boy. He breathed deeply, smiling, and for a moment his gaze became dreamy. But he returned to being himself the next moment. "We'll go to the beach in few hours, when everyone arrives, so just a little patience."

Jirou pouted, but then ran to the playground – it appeared that Atobe had a dog, a pure-breed Akita-inu named Chizo, who was very much like Jirou, so they played together all the time.

"Atobe-bocchama, Tezuka-sama and his friend arrived," the butler bowed.

"Yes, ore-sama will go greet them at once. Shishido, Oshitari, willing to join?"

"I'll pass," Oshitari lied on a lounge with a book and seemed to be going to spend all the time left like this.

"Me too," said Shishido and then grinned deviously. "Wanna find Mukahi and torment him a little."

"Don't bother yourself, Shishido," Oshitari re-adjusted his glasses and spoke before returning to his book. "Gakuto is too deep asleep now, you won't be able to wake him up even using a bomb."

"Hah? Why is he asleep? It's the middle of the day! What did he do at night?"

Oshitari looked at Ryou with a smirk on his lips.

"Do you REALLY wanna know what WE did at night, Ryou?"

Shishido swallowed.

"Errr… not really. No." and added "That's too lame."

"Okay. So ore-sama shall go alone then," Atobe said. Jirou appeared from nowhere before him.

"We'll go! May we, Atobe? Please-please-please-pretty-please!"

"Ah, okay. But keep hold of the dog – he may not like our guests." Keigo headed for the entrance with Jirou and Chizo following.

"Chizo is a good boy, Atobe! Ne, Chizo? Kind and pretty."

"That's because he likes you. He's not always like that."

"Really?"

"Yes. Five years ago this guy bit off a finger from the guy who tried to kidnap ore-sama."

"Really? Sugoi! You're so cool, Chizo! So very suited for your master!" Jirou jumped around with a dog.

"Well of course. Ore-sama chose that dog from a thousand. Here we are, Jirou. Stand still for some time please."

"'kay."

They entered a large hall of a summer house. Tezuka was already there, dressed in a white pants and a light-blue shirt with two buttons undone. Near him there was a boy in a dark-green Bermuda shorts and a dark-red sleeveless shirt. The boy was short, but not as short as Jirou himself was, his hair was fair and his eyes were almost closed. He was smiling kindly. Jirou grinned at him.

"Atobe, that's Fuji Shuusuke, a friend of mine. Fuji, that's Atobe Keigo I've told you about," Tezuka said.

"This guy is Akutagawa Jirou," Atobe added pointing at his comrade.

"Nice to meet you both," Fuji said with a smile.

"Hello!" Jirou smiled and shook his hand. "This is Chizo, Atobe's dog. He is kind and funny. Chizo, say hi!" he told the dog. Chizo gnarred. Jirou stared at the dog. "Chizo, you are a bad boy!"

"Dogs don't like me. None of animals do, so don't worry, Akutagawa-kun," Fuji chuckled.

"Not a surprise," Atobe said looking somehow out-of-body – his eyes were opened wide and glittering a little, like he returned from a dream land a moment ago. Jirou had seen this once before, that was how Insight worked. Atobe returned to being himself and continued: "No reason for a previously wild beast to like the Goddess of Luck who helped people hunt them down."

"Tezuka told me you were strong," Shuusuke tilted his head to the left. "But I'm not actually a Goddess. My sister is."

"Wrong. This Goddess does not live in a person, she lives in a blood. So each and every from your bloodline is a Goddess. She changes families every fifty years, when the last one from the bearer family dies. That's why those families do not last long. And ore-sama knows that you know this too. Trying to test ore-sama, Fuji Shuusuke?" he smirked.

"Not really. Just having fun," the boy answered. Atobe turned to look at Tezuka.

"Ore-sama approves." he said with a cocky smile. Tezuka rolled his eyes. Jirou laughed. Then they went to join up with Oshitari and Shishido in the garden.

The day passed quickly and in some kind of peace – Atobe and Tezuka were playing chess, Shishido and Jirou played with Chizo, Oshitari read the book and Fuji watched everybody from his place near Tezuka. When Gakuto woke up and said he was hungry they all proceeded to the dining hall for dinner. After that they returned to what they did before with Fuji changing over with Tezuka. About 9 P.M. arrived Yukimura Seiichi and three more people with him – Niou Masaharu, Yagyuu Hiroshi and Marui Bunta. The only Indigos from Kanagawa, as Atobe said.

Yukimura seemed cheerful and kind, but something was off with him. At some subconscious level Ryou feared this guy. Gakuto seemed to be the same so Ryou asked him why.

"That's his power. It's fearsome. He can control blood pressure in body. Like make your head explode from inside. Or something like that."

"But that's not something Indigo children are to be able to do!"

"Are you an expert? Well, that's what I know anyway," Mukahi pouted. "Maybe he's not Indigo. Maybe he is an X-Man!" he giggled and jumped on Oshitari who was passing by. Ryou hmph'ed and decided not to worry – Atobe's friends were strange, but they did not seem hostile.

Niou was not a typical Indigo too. 'Cause Shishido never heard about the power to change appearance. That was more about "Harry Potter" then Indigo. Atobe explained that that was about deceiving human's senses, a kind of half-mental powers.

"What is 'half-mental'?" Jirou asked.

"He can be recognized by animals that have sharper senses and us telepathists who cannot read the wholly mental types. And Atobe can recognize him too," Oshitari answered. "I guess this Yagyuu person is mental type. I'd assume he is a telepathist like me. Am I right?"

"Yes," Yagyuu answered with a small smile. It seemed he and Oshitari have already found comprehension.

"And I am like Tezuka here – a telekinesis user," Marui said. "But somehow weaker – I've started training only a year ago."

"But he's got good results already," Yukimura said. "He may become equal to Tezuka some time."

"Yeah. Am I not a genius?" Marui laughed.

Jirou quickly took liking in Marui so Bunta joined them in their games. Niou and Yagyuu seemed to be together all the time and Yukimura with Tezuka and Atobe disappeared around midnight. Fuji then asked Oshitari for a chess match. They played 2:2.

It was about 2 A.M. when Jirou fell asleep in a hammock with Chizo under it and Gakuto with Marui went to have cakes so Shishido was left alone. He then suddenly realized that Atobe, Tezuka and Yukimura were absent for two hours already. Ryou sat near Oshitari and Fuji.

"Hey, where is Atobe and others?" he asked.

"They are on a ceremony," Oshitari answered lifting his gaze from the chessboard. "They are doing it every half a year or so. The 'Noblesse Oblige' ceremony."

"What's that? And why only the three of them? I thought we were here for some common business."

"That's the blood-exchange ceremony. We can't join because we appeared too late – they already have mixed blood. It's like the blood oath for friends but with us Indigos it has different side, when made in early childhood and repeated from time to time. But don't ask me anymore – I don't know what's the meaning 'cause I've never made this thing."

"I know," Fuji suddenly said. "Not the complete matter but partly."

Both Shishido and Oshitari looked at him in surprise.

"Tezuka once told me when he used it," Fuji smiled gently. "The meaning is that when the blood of Indigos is mixed permanently for some time, then under some condition they can use each others' powers. Mostly said circumstances are called out by the need to protect normal people or the weakened Indigos, that's why it is called 'Noblesse Oblige' – the duty of the lord to protect his people."

"This sounds so not like Atobe, if you ask me…" said Shishido after a minute of silence. "I mean, he is so full of himself and thinks he can do anything… Why would he need other powers?"

Oshitari suddenly started laughing. Fuji chuckled. Shishido stared at both of them.

"What? What's so funny?"

"You're so typical speeder, Shishido," Oshitari said through his laughter. He took a minute to suppress it and then continued. "Atobe can do a lot of things using only his power. But this power is still a passive one. It's not ability for fights. And sometimes it's not enough to just know the opponent – you need to do something. I can tell you this self-confidently as a mentalist – sometimes I really wish I had active powers, I would have had fewer bruises then."

"Hmm… and how does this ceremony look like?"

"You can go and look yourself, it's in a fencing hall. Atobe likes that room so it's always there," Yuushi turned his head to Fuji. "Shall we continue?"

Fuji smiled and nodded. Ryou went to check the fencing hall.

It did not look actually scary, but Shishido still got shivers when he opened a door. Three boys were sitting on the cushions in a circle, back to back and held hands. The hall was dark, only few candles were near the boys who seemed asleep. Between Atobe and Yukimura, who were the closest, Ryou noticed blood dripping from hands held. Nothing more than a blood oath ceremony, like Oshitari said. Except that it took too long. Why so?

Suddenly Atobe moved a little and his voice broke the silence.

"Wanted something, Shishido?" he did not open his eyes.

Ryou froze.

"Errrr…"

"It's not like you're not allowed to see so stop freaking out," Atobe's lips formed a tired smile. "And we're almost done too. So?"

"Emn… nothing. Was just curious, that's all." Shishido stuttered. "I'm already leaving."

"Your friends are funny, Atobe," Yukimura said when Shishido left.

"Ore-sama thinks so too. Well, shall we stop then? It's been two hours already."

"I agree," Yukimura opened his eyes and let go of both Atobe's and Tezuka's hands. The two of them followed suit. For a brief moment their eyes seemed red but it could only be a candles' light play.

The boys returned to where everybody was, they all (Ryou woke Jirou up) had some tea with what was left of cakes (after Gakuto and Bunta) and then went to sleep.

_The room is dark and big. Wallpapers are torn in a lot of places and dirty. There is a lot of broken glass – he feels it with his knees. The only light in the room is produced by the hole in the paper-sealed window. He cannot see anyone because he is blindfolded with some dirty cloth, but he feels them. There are three people in the room except for himself – a woman and two men. They are the ones who kidnapped him. It happened when he finished writing a letter to Oshitari and was going to go to sleep. He regrets that he did not finish his sign – the letter was ruined by that long line after 'K'. _

Atobe Keigo slept on the armchair. He tried to read in order to not fall asleep but he failed. Ceremony takes too much energy every time, he cannot get used to it.

_The room blurs and is back to normal. Now he spits on the biggest guy's face. The man storms off but he knows the man will return. _

The book slipped from Atobe's hand and fell on the floor, but he was too deep asleep to notice. Atobe wrinkled in his sleep.

_One more blurring and he gasps for air – the man from before beats him up. The man is drunk. His parents take too long and this irritates the kidnappers. The man punches him into the stomach. He protects his face and his chest curling like a puppy. He does not cry. The other two stand in the hole that must have been door ten years ago and smile sadistically. He still refuses to cry. Only breathes hard. _

Atobe's breathing became a little unsteady, as if he was in pain. He wrinkled his forehead more and more.

_Blur. The same room is empty – he is alone. It seems his every bone ache. And they dared to abuse his parents. He is enraged. _

_He feels them coming closer. Seems like another punching time. Which one already? Sixth? Seventh? How long is he here? _

_They won't do it anymore. He's had enough. The ropes on his hands are down already. He takes two little glass pendants from his neck chainlet and opens them. Those bastards never thought this was something special so they left it. That was wrong decision. The pendants are both red – they have blood in them. Precious blood of his first friends. He drinks both. _

Keigo squeezed his hands and coughed. He breathed hard in attempt to wake up, but the dream did not let him out. It never does.

_Blur. He looks at the woman agonizing in pain – she cannot stand up. She feels her bones crack all over the body, starting with legs, then hands, costal bones and finally the dorsal spine. She screams last few seconds and then falls silent. _

It's the same as always. This dream never lets him go. Every time he wakes up shivering and coughing. Nothing helps – pills, massage, exhaustion. Nothing. And it's not over yet.

_Both men storm into the room and freeze. Mistake. Their eyes engorge, vessels tear up, ears bleed. Their bodies burst. He does not feel anything – he's still too enraged. He strikes a match and drops it. The room catches fire in a moment. He watches. It starts to ache inside of him too and he suddenly comes to his senses. The pain in his head together with the shock from what he sees causes him to reel so he leans on a wall. _

When it seems that the pain is unbearable and he starts to suffocate, the room suddenly blurs once more and shines gently. Someone lightly hugs him from behind. Warm.

_"Shhh, shhh… everything is okay… sleep, Kei-chan…" _

He somehow starts to breathe deeply, his mind clears from all the pain and the room vanishes completely.

Atobe slowly opened his eyes. This was the first time the dream did not end. The first time in five years he did not wake up covered with sweat and shivering the night after the ceremony. He cleared his mind and looked around. He was in his room, still sitting in the armchair. He tried to bend to get his book and only then he noticed that he was not alone – on the floor slept Jirou, leaning on Keigo's legs and hugging them. Atobe wondered how he did not notice the boy until now. And was the fact the blond slept here connected to Atobe stopping the dream?

In a second Jirou lifted his head. His eyes were still sleepy but he smiled gently. And that's when Atobe understood.

"And I wondered what the real thing behind your power was. There was no way you were just a mental sleepwalker."

"I felt you suffering so I came to help."

Atobe closed his eyes and leaned back in his armchair. In a few seconds he slowly opened his eyes and said:

"Thank you, Jirou."

"You're welcome, Kei-chan." Jirou stood up and stretched, then yawned. The moment of binding was lost. "You should sleep in your bed, Atobe. Sleeping on an armchair is bad for your health."

"Ore-sama tried to stay awake the whole night, until the blood ends mixing, but was too tired. Now ore-sama feels better so ore-sama can stay awake." _'The night is not over yet so the dream is probably to come back.'_ he thought.

"Go to sleep, Atobe. Or you'll be too exhausted to have fun today. If anything happens… I can stay here with you if you want. So you won't suffer again."

_'Why is it so that I found this suggestion so fascinating?' _

"Hey, Oshitari! Is Atobe still asleep? It's almost eleven!" Shishido came out of the pool and wept water from his face. "I'm not that surprised by Jirou sleeping – I'd even like to know what is the new place for him to fall asleep – but Atobe is usually up early."

Oshitari stopped to spread the sunburn cream on Gakuto's back and stood up. He was rather interested himself – Atobe actually always was up even earlier then always after the ceremony, it was strange for him to sleep this long.

"I guess I shall go wake him up," he said turning to the door.

"Leave him be, Oshitari," the voice came and Yukimura appeared from the house. He was dressed in swimming shorts and a light green shirt. Yukimura's skin was pale, almost white. He was smiling. "Atobe is deep asleep for the first time in five years, we shall not intrude," the boy turned to look at Shishido. "And Jirou-kun is with him, so don't worry."

Ryou stood like he was stroked by the lightning.

"Atobe is sleeping with Jirou? Is there any straight guy here?"

"I don't think Yukimura meant it that way, Shishido," Yuushi spoke up pulling off his shirt and replacing a towel. "I thought so before – Jirou's power has something to do with sleep and that's when Atobe needs him. Let them be…" he looked at Gakuto jump into the pool with a big splash and smiled. "Though I'm still not very positive about them stopping with this. So the answer to your question is probably 'no'," and Oshitari dived into the water too, leaving Shishido astonished. Yukimura put his hand on Shishido's shoulder.

"Bunta is totally straight," he said with a gentle smile. "But I don't think you'll find many more – normal people avoid any abnormality, be it Indigo powers or sexual orientation. Not many Indigos will join a group of gays. But don't let it bother you." the boy went to his lounge.

Ryou looked around and sighed: Tezuka was reading a book, Oshitari and Mukahi… well, he won't look at them, no… Marui, Fuji, Niou and Yagyuu had swimming competition. Maybe he should join them and not bother himself with these themes, really? It has nothing to do with him anyway. Even if Jirou is his friend and a little childish and naïve – he has his own head to think. If he wants… this… then Ryou is not the one to stop him, is he?

Comments are appreciated as always ^_^


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